Trek

Product Line Description:

At Lightwave, we appreciate that not everyone is insistent upon having the very lightest tent on the market, or one using the strongest or most waterproof fabrics. For the large majority of users, in fact, what matters is that their tent will shelter them from some serious weather when it hits, is light enough to carry as part of a pack-load, and is durable enough to provide a decent amount of use for several years. And all without breaking the bank.

The trek range strikes an optimum balance between all these end-user requirements – better, we believe, than any other tent on the market – and for this reason has been the backbone of the Lightwave tent range for many years.

Lightwave trek tents are all pitched inner-first, the system we like best (see why under pitching) and which is the basis for their outstanding performance in wind and bad weather.

Trek fabrics and components are selected for maximum performance and durability at the most reasonable price, while weight is kept to a sensible minimum thanks to Lightwave’s no-frills approach to design.

g30 trek xt

The trek flysheet is made from 40-denier nylon, which strikes an excellent balance between weight and strength. Like all Lightwave tent flysheets, it uses high-tenacity nylon 6.6 yarn (which has a higher tensile strength than normal nylon) and is silicone-coated on both sides (for water-resistance). Silicone coatings maintain the inherent strength of the fabric, whereas the conventional polyurethane (PU) coatings typically used on most tents reduce the tear strength by up to 70%.

The trek groundsheet is made from a very robust 150-denier polyester (except on the compact t10 models which use a 70-denier nylon). This is an area where many tents use 110-denier or even 70-denier fabrics to save weight and keep manufacturing costs down. For the user, however, this can be a false economy, since lighter groundsheets often need the additional reinforcement of a footprint (a separate layer of fabric between groundsheet and ground), which adds up to an even heavier tent as well as extra cost.

Inner canopy

45g/m2, 40d nylon 6.6 ripstop, DWR treated

Poles

DAC 9.00mm 7001-T6 Pressfit aluminium alloy

Trek poles are made of the same 7001-T6 alloy employed in probably 90% of all backpacking tents in the world. Whilst there are lighter alloys around, we always come back to the 7001 series because it is so reliable and resilient. Given that 90% of customer service on tents involves pole replacements, the 7001 poles give both us and our customers the least amount of hassle.

Pegs

Lightning pegs, 11 g each, square section

Pegs are very important – without them, no tent could withstand anything more than the slightest breeze. Trek tents use our Lightning peg – similar in weight to most standard pegs, but substantially stronger and capable of living with some serious abuse. Costing four times as much as normal wire pegs, these are seldom seen on all but the most highly specified and expensive tents.

Guylines

3.00 mm nylon, 3 m length, Linelok adjusters

Trek guylines are made of standard 3.0 mm nylon. They work, and with our Linelok adjusters they work and adjust very well.

All the trek tents, geodesics and tunnels alike, are pitched inner-first. Lightwave is an ardent supporter of this pitching method for the following reasons:

1. It gives greater structural integrity. Because the poles run through sleeves on the inner canopy, they directly tension and support the walls and built-in groundsheet of the inner tent and give it taut and stable three-dimensional shape.

2. It allows the flysheet to be tensioned better and more easily. Without external pole sleeves, inner-pitch tents have a more streamlined, “slippery” profile and thus a greater ability to withstand high winds.

3. It makes for a lighter tent and a simpler construction, since it does not require the connecting mechanisms needed to secure the inner tent to the flysheet.